The virus has been seen in Vermont in animals before, but for the first time it's been found in humans. Two people have been hospitalized in Rutland and Addison county area.
Eastern Equine can be very threatening to your health if you are infected by the virus.
The mosquito borne virus is not quite as known as West Nile but it can be equally if not more dangerous.
Some people who get Eastern Equine can experience flu like symptoms and can expect chills, fever and some muscle and joint pain that could last for two weeks. But the more serious illness, attacks the central nervous system causing headaches, restlessness or drowsiness.
"It's impossible to tell which people will develop the more severe illness. Like I said with eastern equine virus a number of people develop that more serious illness and it's fatal about a third of the time," Vermont State Epidemiologist Dr. Patsy Kelso said.
Serious West Nile cases only result in death one out of every 150 times.
So how do you avoid contracting it? Just avoid mosquitoes. The Vermont Department of Health says wear long sleeves and pants, avoid outdoor activities at dawn in dusk when mosquitoes are most active, get rid of standing water where mosquitoes thrive the most, use repellents, fix door and window screens and also vaccinate horses llamas and emus which is where the first case in the state was seen.
"Last year there was an emu farm that had a die off from eastern equine and so we've been anticipating that we might see some human cases and unfortunately we have this year," Dr. Kelso said.
The reason we're seeing it here now is the weather. Hot dry summers are perfect for mosquitoes, conditions that have been seen all over Vermont this year.
